The present invention relates to devices for holding eyeglasses, sunglasses, and the like securely in place on a wearer""s head, during athletic sports such as surfing, body surfing, windsurfing, water polo, kayaking, basketball, skiing, jet skiing, snowboarding, biking, mountain biking, racquetball, skydiving, paragliding, surfing, tennis, hiking, jogging, and other activities where abrupt turbulence might be encountered by water, human contact, wind, etc.
In certain sports and athletic activities, the athlete is potentially or actually exposed to various abrupt or high turbulence situations. By way of example and not by way of limitation, surfing and related activities expose people to substantial wind and wave xe2x80x9cgustsxe2x80x9d, much or all of which is an unavoidable and even desirable and enjoyable part of the sport or activity. For persons who wear eyeglasses or who want or need to wear sunglasses, that abrupt, high turbulence can impede or even prevent their effective participation in the sport. Although a number of attempts have been made to enable eyeglasses or sunglasses to be worn during such activities, to date they have been unsatisfactory solutions.
All prior eyewear (of which the inventor is aware) that have been made specifically for use in such water sports or similar xe2x80x9chigh-turbulencexe2x80x9d activities have used elastic and/or cushioning materials.
Certain prior solutions have attempted to keep eyewear on the face of the wearer by using goggles which, by their definition, fit snugly against the face. In order to fit snugly against the face and to adapt to the various features of each user""s face, goggles consist of either an elastic part, usually the strap, or a foam padding or a combination of the two. However, with multi-directional turbulence or severe turbulence, the goggles (even those with two eyepieces, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,987 to Runckel) easily slide off the face of the wearer due to the extra xe2x80x9cplayxe2x80x9d that elasticity and/or foam padding contain.
Additionally, the way a snug fit is achieved is by putting pressure against the face, which, when tightened sufficiently to be useful, is uncomfortable.
Also, in using elastic straps, current solutions forego the quick and easy adjustability of a hook-and-pile fastening material of a type such as that marketed under the registered trademark Velcro(copyright).
Other goggle solutions, in an attempt to reduce fogging, contain holes in the frame in order to provide air flow. However, these arrangements, generally used in snow skiing or for shop work, do not make use of the nose bridge or eye socket areas as points of restriction and, therefore, the goggles easily come off under turbulent conditions, which is not what they were designed for to begin with.
Also, goggles generally do not have temple bows. And, solutions that lack temple bows increase the flexibility and elasticity around the circumference of the wearer""s head which, in turn, increases xe2x80x9cplayxe2x80x9d and thereby decreases security.
Additionally, solutions where temple bows are not utilized lack the stability that the temple bows provide, allowing twisting and turning which can be a danger to the wearer""s eyes.
Also, goggle solutions typically are worn close to the face and do not allow any air flow (except for the aforementioned versions with air holes that make the goggles even more flexible and easy to dislodge), which increases fogging.
Also, under a lesser degree of water turbulence, even if the large xe2x80x9ccomfortablexe2x80x9d goggles mentioned above were able to more reliably stay on the face, water would seep in and fill up the eyepieces because a seal is too difficult to maintain, especially when a force acts upon the eyewear in the wrong direction (even if it is only a mild force). This water would in turn obstruct the vision or cause other problems.
Other solutions such as Thomas W. Pomatti""s, U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,441 issued Jan. 30, 1996, consist of flexible materials in the frame. However, this solution requires a xe2x80x9csufficient forcexe2x80x9d strong enough to xe2x80x9cdeform the . . . framexe2x80x9d to conform to the user""s head. And again, this pressure on the wearer""s head is a source of discomfort to the user""s head and eye sockets.
Others, such as international application Edmond E. Murrell""s, PCT/US86/01832, attach to the bows and secure the glasses to the user with a head band. However, this and similar solutions, do not keep the glasses on the head of the wearer under turbulent conditions because of either: (1) the elastic strap and the xe2x80x9cplayxe2x80x9d it allows; (2) the non-locking fastenings that attach to the bows are not particularly secure because they are not locked into place; or (3) the non-locking adjustability mechanism, usually adjusted at the back of the head, is not particularly secure either.
Also, devices such as Murrell""s are generally not easily detached from the frames or adjusted on the wearer""s head. And, as is apparent with all of these shortcomings, they were never designed to be used in activities where abrupt turbulence is usually encountered.
In fact, the inventor is not aware of any existing contraption that keeps eyewear on the wearer""s head during xe2x80x9chigh-turbulencexe2x80x9d situations such as those described above. Prior solutions have typically concentrated on leash devices or floating apparatus, on the assumption that the eyewear will fall off the face of the user under such conditions.
Additionally, eyeglasses (especially metallic frames) can be exposed to rust and other damage from the relatively harsh environments described above, or even from the user""s sweat.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for keeping eyewear on the head of the wearer during athletic sports such as surfing, body surfing, windsurfing, water polo and other activities where abrupt turbulence might be encountered by water, human contact, wind, etc.
It is another object to prevent water from becoming trapped between the wearer""s face and the eyewear.
It is another object to avoid an elastic pressure (specifically, an uncomfortable pressure) on the head of the user.
It is another object to allow easy adjustability to fit all head sizes.
It is another object to allow the user to convert the arrangement to and from a secured format, easily.
It is another object to prevent the device from twisting and turning on the user""s face.
It is another object to reduce or eliminate fogging of the lenses during use.
A still further object is to provide metallic frames for eyeglasses that are less susceptible to damage from rust and the like, from the relatively harsh environments described above, or even from the user""s sweat.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and the accompanying drawings, which are for the purpose of illustration only.